Iris
Portrayed by: Krista Gierlach Roman name: Arcus Daughter of the sea god Thaumas and the cloud nymph Electra, Iris is the Greek goddess of the rainbow. Like Hermes, she serves as a messenger for the gods and can travel faster than the wind between heaven and earth. She is the wife of Zephyrus, god of the west wind (Buxton, 2004: 46). Appearence Within various myths, Iris has taken on several forms and appearences. Sometimes she is depicted as a literal rainbow and nothing more. However, she is most often depicted as a stunningly beautiful young woman with large golden wings that allowed her to move faster than the wind. Her dress is long and flowing, shining with the technicolor beauty of the rainbow. Like Hermes, Iris is also depicted wearing winged sandals that augment her speed even further. Whenever Iris travels across the sky, she leaves a rainbow trailing behind her as she goes (Mavromataki, 1997: 116). In Mythology Iris does not have a myth that centers around her, though she does appear rather frequently. Iris is most commonly associated with the queen goddess Hera, though she delivers messages for any of the major gods. Before the birth of Hermes, she was the chief messenger for the gods of Olympus, though she still fills this role even with Hermes serving as a messenger as well. By Zephyrus, she gave birth to Pothos, god of yearning or longing. He was part of Aphrodite's retinue and was depicted as carrying a vine, suggesting a connection with Dionysos. The vine could also serve as a symbol for longing, as the vine will stubbornly cling to whatever surface it grows on (Astma). Iris has several siblings, the most famous of which being the monstrous Harpies, two beings that were half woman and half bird. These two were sent by Zeus to torture and steal food from the blind prophet king Phineas, who had been punished by Zeus for revealing too much with his divination abilities. The famous warrior Jason and his crew of the ship Argo arrive and agree to help Phineas by chasing away the Harpies. The argonauts plan to kill the Harpies, but Iris steps in to defend her sisters, promising they will never attack Phineas ever again (March, 2009: 146). Iris had another sibling named Arke, who initially served as a messenger to Zeus as well before the Titan war. Unlike Iris, who has golden wings, Arke had iridescent wings. When the Titan war did start, Arke betrayed the Olympians and joined the Titans as their messenger. When the war was over and the Olympians had won, Zeus ripped off Arke's wings and threw he into Tartarus with the rest of the Titans. He eventually gave these wings to the water nymph Thetis, who in turn gave them to her son Achilles to wear on his feet. Like Iris, Arke also had a rainbow follow in her path wherever she went (Astma). Iris' cruel side is shown when she appears in Euripides' play Heracles. Alongside Lyssa (spirit of madness), she is sent by Hera to curse Heracles with a fit of madness in which he ends up killing his wife Megara and their three children (Euripides, tr. Coleridge, 2001). In Metamorphoses Iris appears only once in Metamorphoses during the story of Alcyone and Ceyx. After Ceyx has drowned at sea, the love goddess Aphrodite takes pity on the forlorn Alcyone. She sends Iris to the home of the god of Sleep (Hypnos), in order to ask him if he may send a dream to Alcyone to tell her of her husband's death. Iris arrives, but soon finds herself drifting off to sleep from the effects of the somnolent god. Luckily, she set an alarm beforehand, which wakes both her and Sleep up. She bids him farewell and leaves. This is the only time she is seen in the play. She is portrayed by the Fourth Woman (Zimmerman, 2002). References Atsma, Aaron J. IRIS : Greek Goddess of the Rainbow, Messenger of the Gods | Mythology, W/ Pictures. Theoi Project, n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2014. . Buxton, R. G. A. "Hesiod's Theogony: Genealogy." The Complete World of Greek Mythology. London: Thames & Hudson, 2004. 46. Print. Euripides, Edward P. Coleridge, and William-Alan Landes. Heracles. Studio City, CA: Players, 2001. Print. March, Jennifer R. "The Quest for the Golden Fleece." The Penguin Book of Classical Myths. London: Penguin, 2009. 146. Print. Mavromataki, Maria. "Iris - the Harpies - the Winds." Greek Mythology and Religion: Cosmogony, the Gods, Religious Customs, the Heroes. Athens: Editions Haïtalis, 1997. 116. Print. Zimmerman, Mary, David R. Slavitt, and Ovid. Metamorphoses: A Play. Evanston, IL: Northwestern UP, 2002. Print.